Organizational Commitment In Software Service Firms : The Impact of Organizational Demography

Research has established the importance of including demographic considerations in organizational analysis to provide a more comprehensive explanation of organizational phenomena. Most empirical studies have focused on a single perspective and the impact of a few demographic characteristics on outcomes of interest. This study uses multiple perspectives and incorporates a broader range of demographic characteristics and examines their impact on organizational commitment.The study was conducted in software companies in India. Data was collected from software engineers, team/module leaders, and project leaders from seven software firms in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, India. Of a total of 600 instruments distributed, 386 completed questionnaires were received.Firstly, the results of the study confirm that using multiple perspectives to understand demographic influences on individual behavior is beneficial. Each demographic characteristic seemed to have different effects based on the perspective used. Examining the multiple perspective simultaneously provided a more holistic understanding of the phenomena. Secondly, the use of several demographic characteristics, rather that one or two characteristics, was also supported because each characteristics seemed to have different effects independently and in the presence of other characteristics. Thirdly, there was strong support for the argument that natural characteristics have a greater impact on individual attitudes than organizationally derived. Acquired characteristics have the least effect. Lastly, the results also suggested that the demographic profile of personnel in the software industry is different from other industries, and as a consequence their influences on individual behavior may also be different